Fire extinguishing system



Aug 11, 1936- I s. E. ALLEN Y 2,050,687

FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 18, 1952 INVENTOR. Scor". /l/ LE/v BY I x .TTORNEM Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES y PATIENT lOFFICE I mesn'e assignments, to'C0-Two Fire Equipment Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of Delaware I applicants october is, 1932, serial No. 638,266

employed. 5 An object of the invention is to provide Ia ilre extinguishing system particularly adapted for the protection of airplane and airship hangars, or for a deck on which aircraft are supported. Owing to the highly combustible nature of the materials l of'which aircraft are usually built, it is essential that the fire be extinguished immediately. In the case of airplanes, for instance, the wings,

fuselage, rudders, elevators, etc. are often made `merely of wood covered with linen, silk, cotton 15 fabric or the like, treated with lacquer to present a smooth surface to the air currents, and for. protecting such highly combustible material distributed about a hangar which in some cases is very large, the ordinary fire extinguishing sys- 20 tems are entirely inadequate. It is impracticable to attempt to protect the aircraft by discharge of re extinguishing fluid from the walls of the v hangar since such protection could not l be extended more than a few feet 'from the walls. On 25 the other hand, if the fire extinguishing fluid lwere discharged from the rafters or ceiling of the building it would have to oppose the air currents set up by the fire and before suillcient of the extinguisher could beintroduced in the hangar to ao smother out the flames, the damage wouldn-have f been accomplished.

In the case of an airplane aflre, the blaze may be' shielded by the wings so that a gaseous extingulsher discharged from above would not reach the blaze and would not prevent the latter from being fed with air sucked up'by the fire. Since the air currents usually rise to the fire, it is preferable to discharge the extinguisher from beneath so that the gas will be carried up to the blaze 40 by the natural draft produced by the fire.

An object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a system employing carbon dioxide or other` highly compressed extingnishinguid in which the fluid is discharged in the form of a gas from outlets in the door of the hangar or other enclosure.

In apopending application Serial No. 607,062, iiled April 23. 1932, I describe a fire extinguishing system of thlsgeneralcharacter havingfloor out- 60 lets with covers normally closing the outlets but adapted to be opened by the gas pressure de. veloped in the outlets. The outlets are in the form of expansion chambers and it will be obvious that with large expansion the pressure 55 might not be suillcient to blow the cover clear of the outlet. In such case, as soon as the pressure was relieved by partial opening of the outlet the cover would drop back to closed position, only to open as soon as the pressure was again built up. Thus the cover would flutter over the outlet 5 and the gas instead of pouring out continuously'I would be discharged' intermittently, so that volumes of air might be sucked into the fire in a1- ternation with puffs of the extinguisher.

`An object of theA present invention is to avoid any possibility of fluttering and to provide for positive opening of the covers bymeans which are not affected by pressure conditions in the Vexpansion chambers,

Another object of the invention is to provide 15 for .horizontal spread of the flre extinguisher along the floor. v

Another object lof the invention is to provide means for raising a cover bodily to'such position lthat it will not interfere with the lateral spread of extinguisher. l

Another object of the invention is to provide means -for supporting the cover when opened in such position as to baille the discharge of gas and compel it to spread horizontally along the floor.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment and of a modification thereof and thereafter the novelty and scope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a view in cross-section of a hangar equipped 'with my improved fire extinguishing apparatus, showing. a plurality of flooroutlets adapted to be connected with a source of extinguishing fluid;

lig.l 2 is a detail view in vertical section of a preferred form of oor outlet; and

Fig. 3 is a similar view of another outlet.

A hangar protected by my improved ylire extinguishing apparatus is indicated in Fig. 1 by the :ramera-i i0. In this hangar aref shown aV plu- -rality of airplanes H. At a suitable point outside of the hangar there is a supply of lfire extinguishing fluid preferably stored in a battery of containers. However, only one of the containers is shown at i2 in the drawing. A suitable discharge mechanism i3 is provided for releas-a ing the fluid from the containers and discharg-f ing it into a pipe system it.' This pipe system passes under the floor l5 of the hangar and is provided with a plurality of nozzles i6 that open respectively into expansion cham ers embedded inthe oor l5. -1 g5 form of floor Each expansion chamber, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises a casing. I1 formed with a hemi-spherical bottom |8. 'I'he nozzle I6 opens through the bottom |8 and proiects slightly into the chamber. A baille plate I8 is supported on studs 20 above t-he nozzle so thatthe jet of' gas issuing from the nozzle will strike the plate I9 and spread around it. As a result the gas will be considerably expanded in the chamber I8 and will discharge from the top of the chamber at greatly lowered velocity. The casing |1 is normally closed by a lid 2| which lies flush with the floor. However, when fire ex-y tinguishing fluid is led into the expansion chamber the lid is opened by certain fluid actuated mechanism, as willnow be described.

A branch pipe 22 leads from -the main pipe system |4 and passes through the side wall of the casing I1. 'I'hisbranch pipe opens into the lower end of a vcylinder 23 which is carried bya spider 24 suitably supported on lugs 25 projecting from the inner face of the casing I1. Fitted to slide within the cylinder is a plunger 26 which has a stem 21 afllxed at its upper end to the lid 2|. The plunger 21 passes through a bushing 28 threaded into the cylinder and this bushing serves as a guide for the stem and also as a stop to limit the rise of the plunger. A flatsprlng 29 is se.

cured to the stem 21 and projectsslightly therefrom, as shown in Fig. 2, so that when the plunger lies flush .with the floor.

and nozzle I6 admit fluid extinguisher into the.

is forced upward to raise the lid 2| the spring 29 will engage the bushing 28 frictionally and support the cover in raised position.

In operation, Whenever a ilre is detected the discharge mechanism |3 is operated and extinguishing fluid is admitted to the piping system I4. 'Ihe fluid being under high pressure will force the plungers 28 upward. raising all of the lids 2| approximately to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 2. At the same time the fluid will be discharged from the nozzle I6 into the expansion chambers and will discharge from said chambers at a considerably reduced velocity into the hangar. 3' Because the lids 2| are supported directly above the outlets they will act as bales to prevent a directly vertical rise of the gas. Instead the gas will have to spread horizontally along the Vfloor and it will be drawn by suction into the fire, smothering 'the same. After the fire is extinguished the lids may be restored to their closed position by merely stepping on them and forcing them down to the full line position shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter, another set of containers may be supplied to replace the discharge containers I2 and the apparatus will then be ready for another fire.

The discharge device shown in Fig. 3 is similar to that shown in Fig. 2 as regards the jet and general form ofthe container. However, the lid intead of being raised bodily, is hinged and must be swung to open position. As illustrated, the casing 30 of the expansion chamber is sunk into the floor I of the hangar-and a closure member 3| for the chamber is connected by hinge 32 to the casing 30, in suchmanner that normally it The piping system I4 casingk and the jetof extinguishing fluid is baffled byla plateisin the same way as in the structure illustrated in Fig. 2. The casing 30 differs from the casing '|1 in having a cylinder 33 v,formcdz against its lside wall. Slidable in this cylinder-.isa plunger 35, and a rod or stem 38 pivotally connected tothe plunger bears against the :under-face, o1' the lid 3| close to the hinge 32.

Thef-rodpassesthrough a collar or bushing 31 threaded into the'upper end of the cylinder and secured at desired adjustment by a set screw 38. A branch lin'e 39 leads from the main piping system I4 to the lower end of the cylinder 33.v

In operation when extinguishing fluid is admitted in to the pipe I4 a. portion of the fluid enters the cylinder 33, through branch pipe 39, raising the plunger 33 and swinging the lid open. The aperture in the collar 31, through which the rod 36 passes, is not in axial alinement with the plunger but is shifted slightly toward the hinge (i. e. toward .the right as shown in Fig. 3). Hence the rod which is pivoted centrallyion the plunger is also inclined toward the hinge, and as the plunger rises such inclination increases, and the upper end oi' the rod will continue to exert thrust against the lid until the latter has passed vertical position, as shown by broken lines at A, after whichithe lid will continue its swing by gravity until it lies on the floor I5, as shown by broken lines at B. The collar 31 serves not only as a guide to direct the rod 36 but also as a stop for the plunger 33, being provided with a depending upper limit of its stroke.

It willbe noted that with either of the opening devices it is not necessary to wait until sufficient pressure is developed in the outlet chamber to blow the lid off the chamber. Instead, the lid is raised positively and to a fixed position by the pressure of the fluid in the system independently of pressure conditions in the expansion chambers. The plungers 26 and 25 need not fit snugly in their respective cylinders because there is plenty of pressure available to open the lids.

My invention is peculiarly adapted for the protection of hangars, but it is equally applicable to other enclosures and also to open areas, such as the decks of ships, air-craft carriers, etc., on which highly inflammable cargo or apparatus is stored. The term oor as used in the claims is to be interpreted as comprising any supporting surface.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention and a modiflcation thereof I wish it to be understood that these are to be taken as illustrative and not limitative of my invention and that I reserve the right to make such changes in form, construction, and arrangeflange 40 against which the plunger bears at the 25 the nozzles and separately tosaid opening means.

2. In a i'lreextinguishing system for a space having a floor, a supply of highly compressed extinguishing fluid, a distributor pipe leading therefrom, a plurality of Acup-shaped discharge outlets leading from the pipe through said floor. means for releasing said fluid into said pipe, a closure for each outlet, fluid actuable means for opening each closure, and a connection from said distributor pipe to each of said fluid actuable means whereby fluid from the discharge pipe will actuate the latter means.

3. In a re extinguishing system for a space having a floor, a supply of highly compressed extinguishing fluid, a plurality of cup-shaped dissaid plunger having an upwardly extending stem l charge outlets opening through the floor, a cover for each outlet, a. cylinder at each outlet, a plunger operable therein, an operative connection from the plunger to the cover, and means for discharging said fluid from the supply into the bottom of each outlet and simultaneously into said cylinders to raise the plungers and open the covers.

4. In a fire extinguishing system for a space having a floor, a supply of highly compressed extinguishing fluid, a distributor pipe leading therefrom, a plurality of discharge outlets leading from the pipe through said floor, means for admitting said fluid into said pipe, a lid normally closing each outlet, fluid actuable opening means for raising the lid bodily above the outlet, and a separate fluid connection from the distributor pipe to said opening means to actuate the latter when fluid is admitted into said pipe.

5. In a fire extinguishing system for a space having a floor, a supply of highly compressed ex'- tinguishing fluid, a distributor pipe leading therefrom, a plurality of discharge outlets leading from the pipe throughlsaid floor, means for admitting said fluid'into said pipe; a lid normally closing each outlet, fluid actuable opening means for raising the lid bodily to a position spaced above the outlet, a fluid connection from the distributor pipe to said opening means to actuate the latter when fluid is admitted into said pipe, and means for retaining the lidl in said position over the outlet.

6. In a fire extinguishing ,system for a space having a floor, a supply of -highlycompressed extinguishing fluid. a plurality of discharge outletsA opening through said floor, a lid for each outlet. means for leading said extinguishing'fluid to said outlets, means actuated by pressure of the extinguishing fluid for raising the lid bodily to a position spaced above the outlet, and means for retaining the lid in saidposition.

'7. In a re extinguishing system, a floor outlet for highly compressed fire-extinguishing fluid, comprising a casing, a nozzleprojectlng into the casing through the bottom thereof and terminating adjacent the bottom of the casing, a cover normally closing the top of the casing, a vertical cylinder closed at the bottom and. supported centrally in the casing, a plunger in thecylinder, i

said plunger having a stem fixed at its upper end to the cover, means for conducting said fluid into the nozzle and also into the cylinder below the plunger, and a stop for limiting the rise of the plunge." under pressure of said fluid.

8. In a fire extinguishing system, a floor outlet for highly compressed fire-extinguishing fluid, comprising a casing, anozzle projecting into the casing through the bottom thereof and terminating adjacent thebottom of the casing, a cover normally closing the top of theV casing, a vertical cylinder closed at the bottom and supported centrally in the casing, a plunger in the cylinder, said plunger having a stem fixedat its upper end to the cover, means for conducting said fluid into the nozzle and 'also into the cylinder below the plunger, a stop for limiting the rise .of the plunger under pressure of said fluid, and a detent for retaining the plunger in raised position.

9. In a fire extinguishing system, a floor outlet for highly compressed fire extinguishing fluid, comprising a casing, a nozzle projecting into the casing through the bottom thereof and terminating adjacent the bottom of the casing, a cover normally closing the top of the casing, a vertical cylinder closed at the bottom and supported centrally in the casing, a plunger in the cylinder,

-for conducting the fire extinguishing fluid into ing at various pointsvdistributed throughout the floor jets of fire extinguishing fluid liquefied constructed and arranged to raise the cover when the plunger is raised, means for conducting said fluid into the nozzle and also into the cylinder to raise the plunger and the cover, and friction means for retaining the plunger in raised position.

l0. In a ilre extinguishing system, a floor outlet for highly compressed fire extinguishing fluid,- comprising a casing, a nozzle projecting into the casing through the bottom thereof and terminating adjacent the ,bottom of the casing. a cover normally closing the top of the casing, a vertical cylinder closed at the bottom and supported centrally in the casing, a plunger in the' cylinder, said plunger having a stem connected at' its upper end to the cover, means for conducting said fluid into the nozzle and also into the cylinder to raise the plunger and the cover, a bushwhich the stem passes, said bushing serving to limit lthe rise of the plunger, `and a spring on the stern coacting with said bushing to frictionally ing in the upper end of the cylinder' through 20 cylinder being closed at the bottom, a plunger in the cylinder, "a rod pivotally connected to the plunger and bearing against the cover, means the nozzle and also into the cylinderto raise the plunger, and means for arresting the plunger after it has risen far enough to swing the cover past the vertical position.

12. In a fire extinguishing system, a iloor outlet for fire extinguishing uid, comprising a casing, a nozzle projecting into the casing through the bottom thereof and terminating adjacentV the bottom of the casing,` a hinged cover normally closing the top of the casing. a vertical cylinder in the casing and adjacent the cover hinge, said cylinder being closed at the bottom, a plunger in the cylinder, a rod pivotally connected to the plunger at a central point thereof and bearingagainst the cover, means for conducting the fire extinguishing fluid into the nozzle and also into the cylinder to raise the plunger and swing the cover open, an apertured guide at the upper end'of the cylinder through which the rod passes, the aperture of said guide departing from axial aiinement with the plunger in the direction 4of the cover hinge, whereby the plunger will bear against the cover until the latter has swung past the vertical position, and means for arresting the plunger after it has risen far enough to swing the cover past the vertical position.l

13. The method of extinguishing a fire in a space having a floor, which consists in dischargunder pressure, expanding the liquid into gas and discharging the gas horizontally along said floor, whence it may be drawn into the fire by suction produced by the fire.

14. A method of extinguishing a fire in a space having a floor which consists in discharging jets of fire extinguishing fluidl liquefied under pressure, expanding the liquid into gas, and discharging the expanded gas through the floor and horizontally along the oor. whence it may be drawn into the nre by suction produced by the nre.

15. The method of extinguishing a. re in a space having a oor which consists in discharging below the oor level and at a. plurality of points distributed throughout the door jets of tire extinguishing uid liquefied under pressure, expanding the liquid into gas. and discharging the gas horizontally in all directions along the iloor, whence it may be drawn into the re b suction produced by the nre.

16. In a nre extinguishing system for a space having a ioor formed with a plurality of recesses, a cove'x foreach recess, opening means adapted to beractuated byfiuid pressure to open each cover, a, source of highly compressed fire ex-V tinguishing uid, means for discharging the iiuid into the bottom of each recess and separate means for leading a. part ot the uid from said source to each opening device to open thecovers.

scorrrz. ALLEN. 

